


Arlert's Pleasantries

by Moonlitgems



Series: Moon's Ermin Week (EAauweek) 2018 [5]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Confessions, EAauweek, M/M, bookstore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-11 03:13:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16467560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlitgems/pseuds/Moonlitgems
Summary: Eren's got the hots for his geeky friend from high school. Now that a new chapter is about to begin in their lives he's decided to take a gamble and ask the cute blond out.





	Arlert's Pleasantries

**Author's Note:**

> Day5: Bookstore
> 
> I apologize for this being late. My computer corrupted the file, so I had to rewrite it from the excerpts in my notebook. =w= Hope you guys enjoy this.

Today was the day. He'd been mentally preparing himself for weeks. He was going to finally ask out Armin Arlert. He still was worried about how the young man would react to being told that he was liked by a guy. It wouldn't be something Armin would be offended by, but it still unnerved him.

Eren Jaeger, eighteen years old, fresh out of high school, still had no ambition for his future. He knew his parent were disappointed in him, if they were really looking down on him in heaven. There was just nothing in this world that had made him want to do something. Realizing he'd fallen in love was the first time he ever realized he wanted something.

At first, he wondered why it had to be with the strange teen that had followed him around, trying to get him to watch 'Twenty-one Jump Street' every time they hung out. Then, one day, he realized that his eyes lingered a little too long. And, he realized that the two of them stuck to him, even after he bit Historia's head off for lying. Even when they saw his faults, his twisted dark side, they still stood by him. Especially, Armin.

It was the strangest thing to realize. He suddenly found himself watching how he acted around the other. Being a little nicer, like actually listening to him, when they talked, or hanging out with him and Mikasa outside of school, willingly. The three of them seemed to have become a trio, if they rumors had anything to say about it.

For the longest time, he just felt like he didn't care about anything. Now, he had something to care about. He didn't want to let them go-didn't want to let Armin go. So, after much stress of trying to decide what to wear and ignoring the badgering he was getting from his older brother. He made his way out to the one place he knew he could find Armin.

Arlert's Pleasantries.

It was a bookstore owned by Armin's grandfather. It was a large store/cafe, that was affiliated with Shinganshina University. Armin had worked at the store ever since he was legally allowed. It was the whole reason Armin wanted to go to college. He was going to take over the store after his grandfather retired and he wanted to have all the qualifications. Eren thought it was interesting as a choice, coming from the young man, who used to talk about traveling the world.

He quickly made his way across town, to the little store to find it bustling with kid around his age. They all seemed to be looking for educational books. It wasn't something Eren was used to. It the first year he'd ever been in the store during a rush.

"Hey Eren." Armin was standing there in casual clothing, smiling at him like he was delighted by Eren's surprise appearance.

“Hey, Y-You're not working today,” He said, noting Armin wasn't wearing the green t-shirt that was the standard uniform for the store. Instead, he was wearing a light blue plaid shirt, with a white shirt underneath it.

“I'm off today, just-hanging around,” Armin said, smiling slightly at Eren. He was going into his first year of college, while Eren was taking a year off to get some work experience. His friend was super excited to be starting in his business major. Eren on the other hand, wanted to work for a year to save up some cash, before he started his physical education major, something his mother convinced him to do. “What about you? How's work been?”

“Work's-Well, they pay me, so I can't complain,” Eren said, shrugging, while Armin laughed lightly. “I just had the day off and was bored, so thought I'd drop by," He said looking off to the side, feeling nervous about the number of people and how it might affect his plans.

“Yeah, we're pretty slammed, right now, though,” Armin said glancing over at the cashiers. “I tried to get Grandpa to let me come in to help, but he told me to go get stuff for school and not to worry about the shop.” He said, smiling lightly. “He's already scolded me for being here, but he's been too busy to tell me to go home,” He said, turning his eyes back to Eren. They were shimmering with mischief and Eren couldn't help but shake his head at the teen's antics. “Do you want to hide in the manga section and wait for the rush to die down?”

“Yeah,” He said, smiling at Armin, who began walking over to the section that was the furthest away from the crowds of students. Eren followed him, glancing down the isle counting the many customers that were looking at the titles. “Did you get all your books?” He gestured to the books in Armin's hands shyly, wondering what sort of classes Armin was taking, but not sure how to broach the subject.

“Ah, yeah. Grandpa put a special order in for me. These two were just something that had been left in the wrong spot. I plan to put them back later.”

“Is something bothering you? You keep looking around like you're being followed,” Armin said, cracking a smile as he set down the books he'd been carrying.

“I'm just-thinking too much about something is all.” Armin just stood there, watching Eren, curiosity in his eyes. “I was hoping it'd be less crowded, because I wanted to ask you something,” Armin just tilted his head and waited for Eren to speak. When he didn't, his eyes traveled to the rows of manga behind them. “It's weird, so I don't think I should do it here,” He said wanting to cover his face.

“If you want we can go to my house,” Armin said, looking at Eren, obviously concerned. Eren just shook his head, feeling like if they were to leave the bookstore, he'd just give up completely. Instead, he just leaned against the wall, watching Armin stare back at him. It was like he was trying to figure out what Eren wanted to say and why he would even broach the subject in public, if he was having second thoughts.

And he was having second thoughts about asking Armin out. Maybe he was being stupid, or even selfish for wanting to tell Armin. He knew he wasn't the most loving person in the world. Armin deserved someone that would treat him right. Eren could do that, he knew he could. He truly did like Armin more than a friend. He wanted to stay by his side for the rest of his life. If that were to be ruined now, then he'd probably go insane, but if he didn't he would be left with the constant wondering. The what if he said yes.

“Hey Eren, can I tell you something.” Armin's voice stopped his train wreck of thoughts with a simple sentence. His attention was

“If you think I'm gross, for saying it, just-tell me, okay,” He said, his expression changing to a more somber one.

“I've seen your Hentai collection, Armin. I already think your gross,” He said, trying to make a joke, because he didn't like the look on Armin's face.

“Okay-rude! My collection is banging,” He said grinning despite trying to look angry.

“So, are the character,” Eren said, knowing that was what Armin wanted as follow up, or he wouldn't have started grinning like a child.

“T-This is so lame,” He said, covering his face with a groan. Eren could only laugh, listening to Armin try to hold back his own laughter. Once the laughing died, Armin took a deep breath and looked at Eren with a serious face. “Okay,” He said staring into Eren's eyes like he wanted it to be dramatic. But, he quickly faltered, looking away as he opened and closed his mouth.

“You've been acting weird lately, you know,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You actually acted like you liked spending time with Mikasa and myself. I'm really happy about that, don't get me wrong! But-I feel like there's something off about it. Like, you're pushing away-just as much as you're pulling forward.”

There was that knack of his. Armin always seemed to notice the littlest things about someone and how they acted. If someone was depressed he could always tell from the littlest details. Eren thought he was being really careful about hiding his feelings toward Armin. By doing that, did he cause Armin to misunderstand his actions. Probably, Eren was bad with emotions and socializing.

“I don't know, if you feel like we'll stop being friends once Mikasa and I start school, but we don't plan on it.” Armin was looking at him again, that sad look in his eyes. Eren had to wonder just what was going through that mind of his.

“I didn't even realize I was acting any different,” Eren said frowning at his friend.

“That's because you like to keep to yourself, and you don't realize others are watching you.” He shrugged and looked a bit helpless when Eren looked at him with a questioning gaze. “I like to watch you. I mean, I want to know more about you and understand you better. You're like-closer to me than any of my other friends.” Armin looked a bit embarrassed by what he just said and Eren couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. “What I'm trying to get at is-If you have something to say to me then just say it.” His face was starting to turn bright red as he spoke and Eren decided that it would be okay to ask Armin. If he were to say 'no', he was sure they could stay friends. “I mean, you let me talk about anime thighs, for God's sake. Nothing you say can be weirder than that, I mean, so-”

“I have no idea what you're trying to say, Armin,” Eren said, cutting Armin off with his words. Armin opened his mouth to try and explain it again or maybe ask him a question. “I like you, that's why I was acting weird.” Armin looked at him shocked, like he hadn't been expecting that. “But, I don't know what to do about it,” He said, shaking his head. “I wanted to ask you out to a movie or something, but you know how I am. I don't think I'd be a very good date.” Let alone a good boyfriend, he wanted to say, but he left that part off.

“You'd be the perfect date,” Armin said, moving forward with a look that told Eren that Armin didn't want him to talk down about himself. He then faltered slightly as he realized how close they'd gotten. “L-Let's go talk about this a-at my house. People might hear us here.” Armin was bright red, looking around everywhere, but at Eren, like he wasn't sure what to do.

“Okay,” He said feeling a little relieved that Armin hadn't flat out rejected him.

“Eren,” Armin said quietly as they headed toward the exit. “I'm sorry I was blathering on, making no sense...I thought you might 'disappear', like my parents did,” He said quietly as they walked past the registers, waving at Armin's Grandfather as they did so. Eren wasn't sure of the whole story, but he heard a part of it from Armin's Grandfather. Remaining silent, he wrapped his arm around Armin's shoulder.

“I wasn't planning on doing anything dangerous,” He said with a sigh. “Mikasa bound me remember? No harm unto myself or unto others.” A small chuckle escaped Armin's lips as they exited the store. As they walked around back, heading across a small field, Eren heard Armin speak up.

“I wouldn't mind going out on a date with you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I had really wanted to do a Canon Divergence timeskip, but all the spoilers on Tumblr, I'd seen were so sad that I couldn't get inspired. =w= I hope you enjoyed my take on the Bookstore AU.


End file.
